MELBOURNE, Fla. — Florida Southern (1-10, 0-5 SSC) endured a challenging doubleheader against Florida Tech (11-3-1, 4-0 SSC) on Friday at Nancy Bottge Field, falling 5-0 in the opener before the second game was halted by weather and ruled a no contest.
Florida Tech's offense wasted no time, putting up two runs in the first inning and adding more in the third, fourth, and sixth innings, while Florida Southern struggled to find a response.
Florida Southern's pitching staff settled in after the opening frame.
Des Aitken started in the circle and worked four innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out three.
Ella Torres came in on relief and threw two innings, surrendering just one earned run while working through traffic in the sixth.
Offensively, the Mocs recorded three hits and applied pressure when possible.
Gabby Young paced the lineup, going 1-for-2 with a double and a hit-by-pitch. Torres added a single in the first inning, and
Carsyn Kull collected a base hit in the third.
Gigi Polanco also swiped a base in the fifth to spark a potential rally.
Florida Tech capitalized early in the bottom of the first. Chloe Fariello walked and stole second before scoring on a throwing error following Emma Chisholm's single. Chisholm later scored on an RBI groundout to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Chisholm extended the advantage in the third with a solo home run to left field.
In the fourth, Mia Terito doubled and later scored on an RBI double by Fariello to make it 4-0. The Panthers added their final run in the sixth when Elaina Snyder delivered a pinch-hit RBI double.
Kelsey Hahn earned the win after tossing six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out three. Ava McCormick closed the game in the seventh to secure the save.
The Mocs look ahead to their next doubleheader at home, where they will face Lander University on March 3. Game one will begin at 2 p.m. at Chris Bellotto Field.
